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MONDAY, Feb. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A quality improvement intervention can reduce inefficiencies in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab), according to a study published online Jan. 31 in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Grant W. Reed, M.D., from the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues performed an observational study to report metrics of efficiency before and after implementation of a cath lab quality improvement program in June 2014, which included implementation of a pyramidal nursing schedule, increased use of an electronic scheduling system, and increased utilization of a prep\/recovery area.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that from before to after the intervention, start times improved an average of 17 minutes and on-time starts improved from 61.8 to 81.7 percent (P = 0.0024). In addition, turn-around times improved from 20.5 to 16.4 minutes (trend P < 0.0001), and the proportion of days at full lab utilization improved from 7.7 to 77.3 percent (P < 0.00001). No increases in overtime, night, or weekend cases were seen. However, there was a reduction in full-time employees over the study period (from 36.1 in 2013 to 29.6 in 2016), with an improvement in employee satisfaction over the same period.<\/p>\n
“This knowledge may be helpful in assisting other cath labs in similar efficiency improvement initiatives,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
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